I didn't read the lastest 25 or so R-A messages I just
received, so I react here only after reading Juri's.
"Noir" is definitely a French adjective, which means "black"
for its first most common use.
This word had also, a rather negative meaning, something like
gloomy, sinister even "evil" (this last signification comes
from older times). Noir, at least since the end of 18 th
century, was already applied to a certain kind of literature
in these days, but… it was to identify the
"gothic literature" (mainly German at first and then English)
and other things alike.
Noir was after this also used to qualify something negative,
dark, linked to gloomy *events* -but had also in another
meaning: things illegal or underground (as in black market)
as in other languages.
"S鲩e noire" is an expression in French that means: a
succession of bad events, repeated bad luck …etc; this is
where Duhamel picked the title of his famous books series,
and it was a play of words between the meaning of the
expression and evoking of a literature that was not
conformist, dark… Duhamel wanted to underline the break from
traditional detection mysteries, British style, in 1945 when
he created his imprint.
"Noire" is the feminine version of the word "noir"; in French
the adjective is always depending on the genre of the name
related to it.
"S鲩e" is a feminine word.
All this explains also why, *outside the criminal and mystery
literature*, the qualification of "noir" was also kept for
another branch of literature in France, based on the "gothic"
lit and having similarities, close or loose, with its style,
intent, ambiance… and it evolved to the meaning we use now to
qualify a "literary" noir novel
(roman noir). Today, the borderline between the two branches
is thinner than ever, and highly controversial.
"Noir", for cinema. Yes, it was a French critic who coined
"film noir", for a certain breed of "films policiers" during
the end of the forties, stuck by common basic characteristics
of a lot of "thrillers", gangster films, detective stories,
coming from the USA. Do not forget that because of the war, a
lot of American films of the late thirties and forties came
late to France. This critic was Nino Frank, IIRC.
Hope this will clarify a little which are the French origins
of the use of the word "noir".
As for the use of the word Noir in our circles, I do not
agree with restrictive definitions, as I explained it many
times here; it's not a set of characteristics that make a
novel belong to the noir domain. Only a few traits and some
intentions. I'm even supporting the idea that, in the end,
hard-boiled is part of the noir territory. I do not want to
put strict borders to the genre, a genre which is universal
as we can see it more clearly now since the nineties, and
which has highly diversified roots and influences. It's also,
IMHO, one of the very few paths that could make the novel, a
literary form, to survive our present days as a literary
genre and to delay its full sclerosis. The alternative is
that the novel will just be a mere glorified
"entertainment" genre in the future, repeating its forms and
contents endlessly.
E.Borgers Hard-Boiled Mysteries http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6384
Polar Noir http://www.geocities.com/polarnoir
Juri Nummelin :
>The French critics used the word "noir" already
earlier before
>the WWII to describe some of the films that were made
in the
>country, such as Marcel Carn駳 PORT OF SHADOWS. The
films were
>also called the poetic realism: dark, gloomy,
atmospheric, and
>also with a sense of doom.
>
>I don't know who coined the term first in the
thirties, but I'd
>suggest everyone read James Naremore's excellent
study of the
>subject, MORE THAN NIGHT, which discusses largely the
birth of
>the definition of noir (and many of its later uses -
it's mainly
>about movies, though).
>
>I know one thing where Jim Doherty was wrong. Marcel
Duhamel's
>line of books was Serie Noire, not Serie
Noir.
>
>Juri
>http://pulpetti.blogspot.com
>
>
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 01 Oct 2005 EDT